It’s been a couple of years since we wrote about Open Mike Eagle and his ‘Rent party extension’ EP, so it was pretty exciting to hear this new release and re-discover his brand of smart, fully aware rap.

The six track release is home to some really tight joints, Mikes flow is brilliant as per usual and there is some sweet sampling afoot, particularly the third track ‘Raps For When It’s Just You And The Abyss’ which features the chorus of a ‘Broken Social Scene’ tune.

The final sign off track entitled ‘Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Rap)’ was produced by Gold Panda and features his signature glitchy beats and token excitable energy…very cool.

Unfortunately we slept on his full length record ‘Dark Comedy’ released last year (Yeah…I was a new Mama and blogging didn’t happen so much!) but you can check out that wicked release, home to more of the same conscious greatness as the new EP over – HERE!

Many moons ago we did an interview spotlight with this pretty nifty artist named Oliver Grimball, an American wordsmith based in Barcelona. Below is the super new video for his single ‘Exploitation Cantata’, taken from his first LP entitled ‘Anodyne Holiday’.

Grimball is currently working on a 2nd album, ‘The Life and Times of Herman Lieserstein’ which is to be release later this year…pretty excited to hear this record, but for now you can check out new music from Mister Grimball over here – https://soundcloud.com/olivergrimball

MOTION LINES IS THE FIFTH SINGLE FROM THE NEW LP ‘PERFECT HAIR’, BUSDRIVER’S NINTH SOLO ALBUM WHICH DROPPED IN SEPTEMBER, ON BIG DADA RECORDS.

THE NEW SINGLE IS A WIRED TRACK THAT’S A LITTLE SPECIAL AS WE GET TO HEAR BUSDRIVER EXERCISE HIS VOCAL CHOPS AND THIS FELLA HAS A SMOKING VOICE!

‘MOTION LINES’ IS AS CLOSE TO AN R&B FLAVORED TRACK AS YOU’RE EVER GOING TO GET FROM THIS ARTIST, AND IT IS DEADLY! WITH IT’S SYRUPY SWEET CHORUS, DEEP GROOVES AND HARMONIOUS BACKING VOCALS…THIS IS A JOINT THAT GETS PLEASANTLY STUCK IN YOUR HEAD.

TAKEN FROM EX HEX’S NEW RECORD ‘RIPS’, WHICH DROPPED ON MERGE RECORDS EARLIER THIS MONTH, ‘WATERFALL’ IS A SINGLE FEATURING SOME CHOICE 80’S ALT-ROCK, SHREDDY GUITAR RIFFS AND HOLLER ALONG CHORUSES. AND YES, RIOT-GRRRL VIBES ABOUND AS THIS IS THE NEW BAND OF MARY TIMONY (HELIUM/WILD FLAG)!

RAYMOND RAPOSA IS BACK WITH MORE HYBRID ELECTRONIC FOLK – ‘DECIMATION BLUES’ LP

Okay, so this album dropped a few months ago, and I should have mentioned it earlier but yeah…life, babies and such happened, and as you may have noticed blog updates have been few and far between….I’m trying to change that though.

So yes, Castanets’ ‘Decimation Blues’ dropped on ‘Asthmatic Kitty Records‘ in mid-August, and I’ve had it on heavy rotation since so I ought to write about it over here quick sharp right?!

What a deadly release! Front man Raymond Raposa has reinvented the Castanets sound once again with this his 6th release. The bands musical style has developed, evolved into something quite unique…a future sound, a space western soundtrack from the future…really experimental and brighter, much lighter then previous ‘Castanets’ releases.

Despite the ominous sounding title there is hope and light in this 12 track record. The album features broad soundscapes, drum machine beats and synth sounds hanging out with haunting analog elements. It is home to everyday life stories, tales of times gone by, with some familiar characters thrown in for good measure. Stories told in the most poignant way, lyrics delivered via Raposa’s signature rusty-croak vocals…Wonderful stuff!

It’s been a few years since TV On The Radio released a record, and from what I can gather by listening to their recently released singles, it’s been time well spent.

The lads are back and in fine form. The new tracks are brilliant, rock-out tightness in full effect. The upbeat racer ‘Happy Idiot’ and reverb drenched, synth joint ‘Careful You’, make me super excited to get this album in my grubby little mitts!

The band are doing a handful of shows in the States and Canada over the next few months…Check out the above links for dates and venues.

If you pre-order the new album now you can get the two new singles ‘Happy Idiot’ and ‘Careful You’ for free –

VOK have been creating some pretty lovely, soulful, electronic music for little over a year. Not too long ago the band signed to The Musebox, and now plan to release their debut EP entitled ‘Tension’ on October 21st, 2014.

I just listened to the tracks of said release and am pleasantly surprised…Yes there are the hushed, smooth vocals the Icelandic folk are renowned for, but these vocals are supported by some super nifty, experimental beats and sweet sax/guitar driven melodies.